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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jean M. Gauthier who wrote (18248)	3/27/1998 9:52:00 AM
From: Andrew Brockway	Respond to of 70976

Another company see lower revenues...... Tower Semiconductor Ltd. Expects First Quarter and Second Quarter Loss Business Editors MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 1998-- -Results To Be Below Analyst Expectations- Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ/NNM:TSEMF) today announced that sales and earnings for the Company's first quarter ending March 31, 1998 and second quarter ending June 30, 1998 are expected to be below analysts' current expectations. The Company expects to operate at a net loss in the first two quarters of the year, with an estimated net loss of approximately 13 cents per share for the first quarter of 1998. A Company spokesperson stated that the lower than expected sales were attributable to reduced order levels in the latter part of the first quarter, resulting in further underutilization of the Company's manufacturing facility and lower average selling prices. Both of these effects are believed to be due to the weak market conditions in the semiconductor industry. The Company stated that it expected order levels to improve in the second half of the year due in part to anticipated orders for wafers manufactured using the Company's new technologies. Dr. Rafi Levin, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Tower stated: "We are working with several new customers for the manufacture of products utilizing our EPROM process, which was recently introduced to production, and for CMOS image sensor products utilizing our optically characterized CMOS technologies, which we expect to result in improved order levels in the second half of 1998. In addition, our specialized Flash and mixed signal processes, which are currently under development, are attracting a lot of interest from new customers and we expect to see sales of wafers manufactured using these processes sometime in 1998." Additional information will be available during the conference call following the release of the Company's results for the first quarter on or about April 27, 1998. Questions and answers regarding this release may be accessed on Tower's web site at www.towersemi.com/press. This press release includes forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary from those projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with the (i) development and introduction to production of the Company's new advanced technologies which are currently under development, (ii) market acceptance and competitiveness of the products to be manufactured by Tower for customers using said technologies, (iii) qualification of new products and customers, and (iv) market conditions for semiconductor products generally. A more complete discussion of risks and uncertainties which may affect the accuracy of these statements and Tower's business generally, is included at "Item 1. Business--Factors Which May Influence Future Results and Accuracy of Forward-Looking Statements" in Tower's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed by Tower with the Securities and Exchange Commission. TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. is an independent semiconductor contract manufacturer and service provider of semiconductor integrated circuits ("ICs") on silicon wafers. As a foundry, Tower provides IC design, manufacturing and turn-key services, using advanced production capabilities and the proprietary IC designs of its customers, and is specializing in providing solutions for embedded non-volatile memory devices and CMOS image sensors. ICs manufactured by Tower are incorporated into a wide range of products in diverse and rapidly growing markets, including computer and office equipment, communication products and consumer electronics.